Telecommunications Interruption and Disconnection Apparatus and Methods

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of interruption-sound devices for producing an interruption sound signal in a telecommunications transmission signal comprising a signal generating circuit and a processing circuit, in accordance with the present invention. The interruption sound signals are input into the appropriate location of the telecommunications device such that the interruptee perceives characteristic sounds such as those encountered when a mobile phone is about to drop a call. As a result, the interruptee will place blame for call disconnection on the mobile-phone technology and not on the interrupter. The interruption-sound device is suitable for incorporated into an external interruption module, a landline phone, and a mobile phone.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Divisional application claiming benefit under 35U.S.C. § 121 of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 10/806,490,filed Mar. 22, 2004.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to telecommunication devices, and moreparticularly, to components and methods associated with callinterruption and disconnection.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

One focus that has been driving telecommunications technologies isimproving and retaining the connection or “call” between two or moreparties. Little has been done to address the age-old problem of politelyand discreetly interrupting and/or disconnecting a call. Practicallyevery party to a call, also referred to herein as a “telephone call” or“phone call”, at some time or another, has had the desire, for variousreasons, to interrupt and/or disconnect a call in mid-conversation. Forexample, disconnection might be desired in a business setting where theconversation by the other party has gone off-topic or has becomeprotracted. When such events occur, productivity comes to a standstilland stress levels rise in the party trying to figure out a way to endthe call without appearing to be impolite, offensive, or disinterested.

A call may be disconnected on a common corded phone (“phone” and“telephone” are used interchangeably herein) by simply hanging up, suchas, by depressing the switch-hook or cradling the handset. A call may bedisconnected on a wireless phone, such as, but not limited to, acordless or mobile telephone, by pressing the “end”, “off”, or similarbutton. In either case, call disconnection will be perceived by theother party as a hang-up and will be instinctively interpreted asaggressive, rude, and/or offensive behavior. The hang-up will be longremembered, harmful, and possibly lead to the disconnection of adesirable relationship. This would be detrimental not only for personalrelationships, but also for business relationships.

For lack of a better method, a party may resort to a “sociallyacceptable” excuse to terminate (“terminate” and “disconnect” are usedinterchangeably herein) the call. In many cases, the conversation may beso controlled by the other party that even a well-formulated excuse maynever have an opportunity to be voiced in the conversation, let alonelead to a polite conclusion of the call. This results in thecontinuation of the call to the dismay of the party desiring an end tothe call.

FIG. 1 illustrates a terrestrial and astral telecommunications system(TATS) 1. The TATS 1 comprises telecommunication devices or phones 10,such as mobile phones 12 and corded phones 14, network nodes 25,transmission/receiving antennas 20, satellites 26 and satellitetransmission/receiving antennas 28, all of which are capable of bring incommunication with one another. Phone-to-phone telecommunicationprovides the means in which two or more people may communicate. Thephones 10 are each coupled to a network node 25, which is a component ofa network, one or more of which make up the TATS 1. One example of aTATS 1, among others, includes a landline network 5, such as a PublicSwitched Phone Network (“PSTN”), in combination with a mobile phonenetwork 3.

FIG. 2 is a schematic of a corded phone main functional components(CFMFC) 101 of the corded phone 14 shown in FIG. 1. The corded phone 14comprises a base unit 15 having a handset 16 and a keypad 43 for dataentry. The corded phone 14 is electrically coupled to the landlinenetwork 5 with a phone cord 23 comprising wires. The handset 16comprises a microphone 49, a speaker 48, and associated conductive paths47. The microphone 49 detects sound pressure waves 149 originating, suchas, from a user's voice, and generates an outgoing analog electricalvoice signal 249. The outgoing analog electrical voice signal 249 iscommonly in the form of instantaneous voltage fluctuations. The outgoinganalog electrical signal 249 is transmitted along the phone cord 23 toeventually be received by another phone 10. A received analog electricalsignal 248 coming from another phone 10, for example, is transmitted tothe speaker 48. The speaker 48 converts the received analog electricalsignal 248 into acoustic energy 148 that can be heard by the user. Manycurrent landline networks 5 convert the analog electrical signals 248,249 to digital formats to assist in transmission through wire, fiberoptics, and high-power wireless transmission.

The corded phone 14 remains famous for providing high quality sound andreliability of retaining a phone connection due, in part, to therelative simplicity of design. The “wired” network, such as the landlinenetwork 5, whether transmitting signals using wires, fiber optics, andhigh-power wireless transmission, is relatively robust against signalloss, noise, and dropped calls.

Referring again to FIG. 1, mobile phones 12, including those deviceshaving integrated mobile phone functions, are in widespread use forbusiness as well as for personal wireless telecommunications. Mobilephones 12 provide users the freedom of mobility, as they are not coupledto the phone cord 23 of a landline network 5 in order to place orreceive a call. Mobile phones 12 transmit and receive a radio-frequencysignal using one or more wireless technologies, such as analog cellular,digital PCS, GSM, satellite, and/or other well-known technologies overthe mobile phone network 3.

FIG. 3 is a schematic of the mobile phone main functional components(MFMFC) 100 of the mobile phone 12 shown in FIG. 1. The mobile phone 12shares many of the same basic components as the corded phone 14, such asa keypad 43, a microphone 49, and speaker 48. The phone cord 23, though,is replaced by a transmit/receive antenna 46 and associated componentsto provide wireless telecommunications.

The MPMFC 100 comprises, generally, a transceiver circuit 104 and acontroller circuit 102. The transceiver circuit 104 comprises componentsfor sending and receiving telecommunications, and the controller circuit102 generally comprises components for operating and managing thefunctions of the mobile phone 12.

The transceiver section 104 comprises the microphone 49, speaker 48, andsignal processing components 51. The microphone 49 detects soundpressure waves 149 and generates an outgoing analog electrical voicesignal 249, commonly in the form of instantaneous voltage fluctuations,which is transmitted to an analog-to-digital (A-D) converter 52. The A-Dconverter 52 converts the outgoing analog electrical voice signal 249 toan outgoing binary electrical voice signal 349. The outgoing binaryelectrical voice signal 349 is transmitted to a digital signal processor56, which performs several processing functions on the outgoing binaryelectrical voice signal 349 to generate an outgoing modulation signal449. The digital signal processor 56 transmits the outgoing modulationsignal 449 to a radio-frequency circuit 58 that produces a transmissionsignal 549. The transmission signal 549 is transmitted by way of theantenna 46 over the mobile phone network 3 to a receiving device, suchas a terrestrial antenna 20, satellite antenna 26, among others, shownin FIG. 1.

A reception signal 548 is received by the antenna 46 and is transmittedto the radio-frequency circuit 58. The radio-frequency circuit 58processes the reception signal 548 to produce an incoming modulatedsignal 448. The incoming modulated signal 448 is transmitted to thedigital signal processor 56, which de-modulates the incoming modulatedsignal 448 into an incoming binary electrical signal 348. The incomingbinary electrical signal 348 is transmitted to a digital-to-analog (D-A)converter 54, which converts the incoming binary electrical signal 348into an incoming analog signal 248 and subsequently transmitted to thespeaker 48. The speaker 48 transforms the incoming analog signal 248into auditable sound pressure waves 148 that can be perceived by theuser.

The controller circuit 102 comprises, in general, a keypad 43 havingseveral buttons 44 that enable various operations to be performed,including dialing a phone number, inputting a phone number into analphanumerical database, and so on. In addition, one of the buttons 44is provided for initiating a call, often labeled “send,” and anotherbutton 44 is provided for disconnecting the call, often labeled “off” or“end.” An alphanumeric display 42 provides a visual display of thestatus of the mobile phone 12, including such information as signalstrength, remaining battery capacity, the number which has been dialed,and so on.

A microcontroller 59 provides an electrical interface between thealphanumeric display 42 and keypad 43 and various components of thetransceiver circuit 104. The microcontroller 59 also provides anelectrical interface to the transceiver circuit 104 via the digitalsignal processor 56, the radio-frequency circuit 58, and/or othercomponents of the MFMFC 100. Instructions executed by themicrocontroller 59 co-ordinate MFMFC 100 operations in response tovarious data, such as the activation of the buttons 44, and signalsprovided by the MFMFC 100, including, such as, but not limited to,battery strength and signaling information extracted by the digitalsignal processor 56.

A common and aggravating problem associated with mobile phones 12 is theunexpected loss of signal strength which results in poor sound qualityand dropped calls. This loss of signal strength is associated with,among other things, line-of-sight issues wherein terrain and/orobstacles come between the mobile phone 12 and thetransmission/receiving antennas 20 of the mobile phone network 3. Lossof signal strength is also associated with the limitations of the mobilephone service coverage by a particular service provider.

Many attempts have been made to improve and overcome poor mobile phoneconnection issues, including implementation of digital networktechnologies and associated hardware and software technologies bothwithin the mobile phone 12 and the associated equipment of the mobilephone network 3. Sound quality and frequency of dropped connections havebeen greatly improved but have yet to reach the quality of the landlinenetwork 5 and corded phones 14.

There remains the unanswered need to provide a mechanism in which callsmay be immediately interrupted and/or terminated in mid-conversation ina polite and relatively non-offensive way. The need is particularlyacute for a society of mobile phone users where “always connected” is away of life.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides apparatus and methods for interruptingand/or disconnecting a call on a telecommunications device (hereinafterreferred to as a “phone”) without the interrupter appearing to theinterruptee as being rude or offensive. Call disconnection is precededby characteristic sounds, such as those encountered when a mobile phoneis about to drop a call (such sounds hereinafter referred to as“interruption sound”), such as, but not limited to, warning tonesindicating a discharged battery, and the characteristic noise, static,and/or distortion of the sound quality that is perceived by theinterruptee as poor reception/transmission caused by a weak or weakeningsignal, going “out-of-range” of the network antenna. In this way, theinterruptee will place blame for call disconnection on the mobile-phonetechnology and not place blame on the interrupter. The same can be usedfor substantially all telecommunications devices, such as, but notlimited to, landline phones, as the interruptee will perceive that thecall must have been “call forwarded” to the interruptor's mobile phone.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the phoneand/or phone line is provided with a sound generating circuit comprisinga playback circuit and a sound storage circuit including one or morestored interruption sound signals. When call disconnection is desired,the interrupter activates the sound generating circuit by, such as, butnot limited to, depressing a button switch thereby triggering theplayback circuit to inject a pre-recorded interruption sound signal intothe voice signal. The call is subsequently disconnected by theinterrupter by hanging up the phone, by a timing circuit hanging up thephone, among others.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, thephone and/or phone line is provided with a synthesizer circuit. Whencall interruption or disconnection is desired, the interrupter activatesthe synthesizer circuit to inject synthesized interruption sound signalsinto the voice signal. Suitable synthesizer circuitry includes, but isnot limited to, voltage-controlled oscillator and/or frequency-filteringcircuits. The call is subsequently disconnected by the interrupter byhanging up the phone, by a timing circuit hanging up the phone, amongothers.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a mobilephone is provided with a signal generating circuit comprising modulatingand/or mixing circuitry for frequency translation, frequency changing,and/or heterodyning. A voice signal generated by the microphone is mixedin combination with a modulating signal to produce poor sound quality,such as the sounds associated with loss of signal-strength and/or lossof channel-locking. When call disconnection is desired, the interrupteractivates the modulating and/or mixing circuitry, such as, but notlimited to, by depressing a button switch, triggering the interruptionsound signal. The call is subsequently disconnected by the interruptorby hanging up the phone, by a timing circuit hanging up the phone, bythe loss of contact with the network due to the degraded transmissionsignal, among others.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, atransmission antenna of a mobile or wireless phone is provided with anantenna shielding device that blocks and/or degrades the transmittedradio-frequency signal a predetermined amount. Poor sound quality isproduced, such as the sounds associated with loss-of-signal strengthand/or a dropped call. When call disconnection is desired, theinterrupter engages the shielding device that advances the shieldingdevice over at least a portion of the transmission antenna to induce adesired degree of signal strength reduction. The call is subsequentlydisconnected by the interrupter by hanging up the phone, or by advancingthe shielding device over the antenna sufficient to block signaltransmission resulting in the call being dropped from the network.

These and other embodiments, aspects, advantages, and features of thepresent invention will be set forth in part in the description whichfollows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art byreference to the following description of the invention and referenceddrawings or by practice of the invention. The aspects, advantages, andfeatures of the invention are realized and attained by means of theinstrumentalities, procedures, and combinations particularly pointed outin the appended claims.

The foregoing is not intended to be an exhaustive list of embodimentsand features of the present invention. Persons skilled in the art arecapable of appreciating other embodiments and features from thefollowing detailed description in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a known terrestrial and astral telecommunicationssystem;

FIG. 2 is a schematic of known corded phone main functional componentsof the corded phone shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic of known mobile phone main functional componentsof the mobile phone shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a landline phone coupled to a partialcut-away view of an external interruption-sound device, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4B is a partial cut-away perspective view of a landline phonecomprising an internal interruption-sound device, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4C is a partial cut-away perspective view of a mobile phonecomprising an internal interruption-sound device, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of call interruption and/or disconnection inaccordance with embodiments of methods of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic of an interruption-sound device, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic of a mixing circuit, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic of a switching circuit, in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic of a synthesizer-based interruption-sound device,in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic of a frequency altering interruption-sounddevice, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic of a phase-locked-loop frequency synthesizer, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 12 is a front cut-away view of a mobile phone comprising an antennaand an antenna shielding device, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings which form a part hereof wherein like numeralsdesignate like parts throughout, and in which is shown by way ofillustration specific embodiments in which the invention may bepracticed. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilizedand structural or logical changes may be made without departing from thescope of the present invention. Therefore, the following detaileddescription is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of thepresent invention is defined by the appended claims and theirequivalents.

The terms “phone” and “telephone” are used herein to refer to anytelecommunications device, such as, but not limited to, a landlinephone, mobile phone, cordless phone, wireless phone, personal dataassistant with phone functions, and other voice and/or datatelecommunications devices. The term “landline phone” refers to a phonethat is electrically coupled by a wire, such as, but not limited to aphone cord coupled to a telephone jack, to a landline network. The term“call” is used herein as it is understood in the art to refer to an opencommunications connection between two or more phones, including, but notlimited to, electromagnetic radiation streaming through an openradio-frequency channel, electrical signals flowing through an openphone line circuit, and combinations thereof.

“Call disconnection” refers to the disconnection, disconnection,breaking, severing, and/or stopping of the carrier stream of a callwherein the calling parties can no longer communicate without theparties establishing another call. The term “interrupter” refers to aparty to a call that interrupts and/or disconnects a call. The“interruptee” refers to a party to an interrupted or disconnected callwho is not the interrupter. The term “interruption sound” refers tocharacteristic sounds, perceived by the interruptee, that hinder orprevent communication between the parties to the call. Interruptionsound includes, but is not limited to, those sounds that are associatedwith events leading up to a mobile phone that is about to drop(disconnect) or has dropped a call. Examples of those sounds include,but are not limited to, characteristic warning tones known to indicatethat a mobile phone battery is discharged, and noise, static, and/ordistortion of the sound quality associated with, but not limited to,poor reception/transmission caused by a weak transmission signal. “Callinterrupting” and “call interruption” refers to deliberate action by aninterrupter that subjects a call to an interruption sound and/orinterruption sound in combination with call disconnection.

The present invention provides apparatus and methods for interruptingand/or terminating a phone call without the interruptor being perceivedby the interruptee as being rude or offensive. The interruptee willplace blame for call interruption and/or disconnection, not on theinterruptor, but on just another noisy and/or dropped call inherent inmobile-phone technology. The same can be used for substantially alltelecommunications devices, including landline phones, as theinterruptee will perceive that the call had been “call forwarded” to theinterruptor's mobile phone.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a landline phone 14 coupled to apartial cut-away view of an interruption module 60, in accordance withan embodiment of the invention. The interruption module 60 iselectrically coupled between the landline phone 14 and the landlinenetwork 27 with phone cords 23. The interruption module 60 comprises aninterruption-sound device 61 capable of producing and mixinginterruption sound signals into the voice signal to produce atransmission signal that is perceived by the interruptee during a callas interruption sounds, which will be described below. The interruptionmodule 60 further comprises an activation switch 144 for initiating theinterruption sound signal. Other apparatus and methods for initiatingthe interruption sound signal are anticipated, such as, but not limitedto, optical switches, voice command, signal command, and activation ofone or more buttons 44 on the keypad 43.

FIG. 4B is a partial cut-away perspective view of an interruption-sounddevice-equipped (ISDE) landline phone 15 comprising an internalinterruption-sound device 61, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention. The internal interruption-sound device 61 iselectrically coupled to the internal circuitry (not shown) of the ISDElandline phone 15 and is capable of producing and mixing interruptionsound signals into the voice signal to produce a transmission signalthat is perceived by the interruptee during a call as interruptionsounds. Call interruption and/or disconnection is activated as describedbelow.

FIG. 4C is a partial cut-away perspective view of a mobile phone 13comprising an internal interruption-sound device 61, in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention. The internal interruption-sounddevice 61 is electrically coupled to the internal circuitry (not shown)of the mobile phone 13 and is capable of producing and mixinginterruption sound signals into the voice signal to produce atransmission signal that is perceived by the interruptee during a callas interruption sounds. Call interruption and/or disconnection isactivated as described below.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of call disruption and/or disconnection inaccordance with embodiments of methods of the present invention. In oneembodiment in accordance with the present invention, the interrupteractivates the interruption-sound device 50 during a call, therebycausing the interruptee to hear interruption sounds. After a period oftime, the call is automatically disconnected or manually disconnected bythe interrupter 52. In accordance with another method of the presentinvention, the interrupter activates the interruption-sound device 50,and subsequently deactivates the interruption-sound device 54 to resumethe call without disconnection.

Referring again to FIGS. 4A-C, the interrupter controls the call usingone or more methods. In one embodiment, the call can be manuallyterminated after the interruption-sound device 61 is activated in anynumber of ways, such as, but not limited to, depressing the switch hookor “end” button after the interruption-sound device 61 is activated,and/or depressing a dedicated or multi-functional button or switchadapted for terminating the call. In another embodiment, the isautomatically terminated at a predetermined time after theinterruption-sound device 61 is activated, wherein call disconnection iscontrolled by timing circuitry, among others.

In accordance with another method of the present invention, theinterrupter follows the actuation of the interruption-sound device 61,such as, by actuating the button 44 with deactivation of theinterruption-sound device 61, such as, by actuating the button 44 asecond time. In accordance with another method of the present invention,the interrupter activates the call interruption-sound device 61 therebycausing the interruptee to hear interruption sounds for a predeterminedperiod of time, followed by automatic call disconnection.

Several ways to produce interruption sounds are anticipated, some ofwhich are included below by way of example. Various embodiments includethe use of stored or created sound signals, and other embodimentsinclude mechanical signal degradation using mechanical-electricalinterference. Embodiments of apparatus and methods for mixing theinterruption sound signals into the transmission signal so as to beperceived by the interruptee as interruption sounds are alsoanticipated, examples of which are included below.

FIG. 6 is a schematic of embodiments of interruption-sound devices 61 afor producing an interruption sound signal in a telecommunicationstransmission signal comprising a signal generating circuit 66 a and aprocessing circuit 69, in accordance with the present invention. Thesignal generating circuit 66 a comprises a playback circuit 167 and asound storage circuit 267. The sound storage circuit 267 is adapted tostore one or more interruption-sound signals 367.

In one embodiment of the signal generating circuit 66 a, the soundstorage circuit 267 is suitable for storing a pulse-code-modulation(PCM) sound signal. Pulse-code-modulation is a known technology forrecording and storing recorded sounds for later playback.

In one embodiment, the processing circuit 69 comprises a mixing circuit169. The mixing circuit 169 is adapted to combine two or more signalsinto a single signal. The processing circuit 69 is adapted to processthe interruption-sound signals 367 in combination with a voice signal249 generated by a microphone 49 to produce a transmission signal 1249including the interruption-sound signal. The interruptee will receivethe transmission signal 1249 and perceive the interruption-sound signal367 as interruption sound.

In another embodiment, the processing circuit 69 comprises a switchingcircuit 269. The switching circuit 269 is adapted to switch between twoor more signals. The processing circuit 69 is adapted to process theinterruption-sound signals 367 or the voice signal 249 generated by amicrophone 49 to produce a transmission signal 1249 including either theinterruption-sound signal 367 or the voice signal 249. The interrupteewill receive the transmission signal 1249 and perceive either theinterruption-sound signal 367 as interruption sound or the voice signal249.

When call interruption is desired, the interrupter activates the signalgenerating circuit 66 a. In one embodiment, a triggering circuit 266 ais adapted to activate or activate and deactivate the signal generatingcircuit 66 a. The signal generating circuit 66 a activates the playbackcircuit 167 to “play” one or more of the stored interruption-soundsignals 367 that is subsequently mixed with the voice signal 249 by theprocessing circuit 69 to be transmitted to the interruptee. In oneembodiment, wherein the stored interruption-sound signal 367 is ananalog signal, the analog signal is transmitted to the processingcircuit 69 to incorporate the analog signal into the voice signal 249.In another embodiment, wherein the stored interruption-sound signal 367is a digital signal, the digital signal is fed into an appropriatecircuit, such as the digital-to-analog (D-A) converter, to convert thedigital signal into an analog signal for mixing with the voice signal249 into the transmission signal 1249.

In an embodiment in accordance with the present invention, calldisconnection is effected by the interrupter after a desired period oftime of transmitting the interruption-sound signal by hanging up thephone, such as, but not limited to, selecting the “end,” “off,” orsimilar button provided on the mobile phone 13 or by depressing theswitch-hook of a landline phone.

In other embodiments in accordance with the present invention, thesignal generating circuit 66 a comprises a timing circuit 166 adapted todisconnect the call automatically after a predetermined length of timeof playback of the interruption-sound signal 367 following activation bythe interrupter. In an embodiment, the interrupter controls thepredetermined period of time. For example, but not limited thereto, theprocessing circuit 69 detects the activation of a specific button 44 onthe keypad 43 of the phone 13. The processing circuit 69 responds byactivating the signal generating circuit 66 a. The length of time inwhich the interruption sound signal 71 will be transmitted is determinedby the specific button 44 pressed on the keypad 43. For example,activation of the number 5 button triggers the processing circuit 69 totrigger the signal generating circuit 66 a to produce the interruptionsound signal 71 for five seconds prior to automatic call disconnection.The signal generating circuit 66 a can be turned off after activation toabort call disconnection.

In yet another embodiment in accordance with the present invention,automatic call disconnection is aborted by the interrupter with a secondactivation of the signal generating circuit 66 a.

FIG. 7 is a schematic of a mixing circuit 69 suitable for mixing twosignals of differing types, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention. The mixing circuit 69 comprises a .mu.-law/linearconverter circuit 31, a summation circuit 32, and a linear/.mu.-lawconverter circuit 33. The mixing circuit 69 allows for the mixing ofinterruption sound signals 367 with voice signals 249 so that the voiceof the terminating party can be heard along with interruption sound. Inan embodiment in accordance with the present invention, a linear-codedstored interruption sound signal 367 is added to, mixed, or summedtogether with, a digital-coded voice signal 249, which requires that thedigital-coded voice signal 249 be converted into a linear-coded voicesignal prior to summing.

The stored interruption-sound signal 367 is processed and/or produced asa linear interruption-sound signal 132 that is input to a summingcircuit 32. Also input to the summing circuit 32 is the digital voicesignal 249 from the user. The digital voice signal 249 is processed intoa linear voice signal 130 buy a known device. One such device is the.mu.-law/linear converter circuit 31, which is suitable for processing adigital voice signal 30 that is digitized in mu.-law coded form. The.mu.-law/linear converter circuit 31 converts the digital voice signal249 to a linear voice signal 130.

The linear interruption-sound signal 132 is then mixed with the linearvoice signal 130 in effect, adding the linear interruption sound signal132 to the linear voice signal 130. The resultant summed signal 230 islinear-coded and is subsequently converted to a .mu.-law-coded digitaltransmission signal 1249 by a linear/.mu.-law converter circuit 33. Thedigital summed signal 330 is then transmitted by the antenna 46 andreceived by the other party, who perceives a mix of voice andinterruption sound.

FIG. 8 is a schematic of a switching circuit 269, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. The switching circuitry 269comprises a switch 34 controlled by the processing circuit 69, shown inFIG. 6. The switch 34 allows the transmission of either the voice signal249 or the interruption-sound signal 367, but not both. The switchingcircuitry 269 provides the ability to switch between the voice signal249 and the interruption sound signal 367, by a switch 34 controlled bythe processing circuit 69 initiated by the interrupter. In thisembodiment, voice signal 249 and interruption sound signal 367 are nottransmitted to the terminated party simultaneously. Therefore, mixingcircuits and the like are not needed.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, theinterruption-sound device 61 a is suitable to be incorporated into theexternal interruption module 60 as shown in FIG. 4A, the ISDE landlinephone 15 as shown in FIG. 4B, and the mobile phone 13 as shown in FIG.4C.

Referring again to FIGS. 3 and 4C, it is understood that there are manylocations within or about the mobile phone main functional components(MFMFC) 100 found in most all mobile phones 13 to interconnect aninterruption-sound device 61 in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention. Example locations include, but are not limited to,the digital signal processor 56 and the radio-frequency circuit 58associated with the transceiver circuit 104.

FIG. 9 is a schematic of a synthesizer-based interruption-sound device61 b comprising a synthesizer signal generating circuit 66 b, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Examples ofsuitable synthesizer signal generating circuits 66 b, include, but notlimited to, voltage-controlled oscillator circuits andfrequency-filtering circuits, and combinations thereof, are suitable forthe particular purpose. Voltage-controlled oscillator circuits andfrequency-filtering circuits are capable of generating synthesized soundsignals, such as white noise to simulate static and the like.Voltage-controlled oscillator circuits and frequency-filtering circuitsare known in the synthesized musical instrument arts. The synthesizedsound signals are input into the appropriate location of thetelecommunications device, such that the interruptee perceives theinterruption sound.

The synthesizer-based interruption-sound device 61 b is suitable to beincorporated into the external interruption module 60 as shown in FIG.4A, the ISDE landline phone 15 as shown in FIG. 4B, and the mobile phone13 as shown in FIG. 4C. The synthesizer-based interruption-sound device61 b is suitable for use in substantially the same way as theinterruption-sound devices 61 a described above, including, but notlimited to, with a timing circuit 166 for automatic call disconnection,a mixing circuit 169, and a switching circuit 269.

FIG. 10 is a schematic of a frequency altering interruption-sound device61 c, comprising modulating and mixing circuitry 75 for frequencytranslation, frequency changing, and/or heterodyning, which acts uponthe voice signal 249 generated by the microphone 49, in accordance withanother embodiment of the present invention. The modulating and mixingcircuitry 75 is provided for use with particular mobile phones 13 thatprovide the necessary circuitry in which the modulating and mixingcircuitry 75 can interact. Such circuitry is not commonly associatedwith landline phones, for example.

The voice signal 249 is modulated in a number of ways, such as, but notlimited to, by summing the voice signal 249 in combination with amodulating signal to produce interruption sound signal using a mixingcircuit 169 as described above. One characteristic sound that can beproduced in this embodiment includes, but is not limited to, soundassociated with loss of channel locking. This loss of channel lockingsound is produced because the use of this embodiment causes a loss ofchannel locking to occur.

In an embodiment in accordance with the present invention, wherein themobile phone 13 comprises a multiple radio frequency channel system, inwhich each channel has an associated channel frequency and the channelfrequencies of adjacent channels are separated by a channel spacing, thevoice-modulation signal is processed in combination with one or moreanalog modulating signals to produce a radio-frequency output signal atleast partially out of a channel frequency of the multiple channel radiosystem. The frequency of the one or more analog modulating signals isadjusted in accordance with their respective frequency resolutions so asto change and detune the channel frequency of the output signal toproduce poor sound quality associated with loss-of-signal strengthand/or loss of channel locking.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the frequencyaltering interruption-sound device 61 c comprises a radio-frequencyphase-locked-loop synthesizer 77. The phase-locked-loop synthesizer 77and methods of this embodiment is provided for use with particularmobile phones 13 that provide the necessary circuitry in which thephase-locked-loop synthesizer 77 can interact. Such circuitry notassociated with landline phones, for example.

FIG. 11 is a schematic of a known radio-frequency phase-locked-loopsynthesizer 77 comprising a radio-frequency oscillator 81 having a tunedcircuit having a resonant frequency defined, such as, but not limitedto, by a varicap diode and an inductor, in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention. The oscillator 81 is known, such as, but notlimited to, a Hartley or Colpitts oscillator. The oscillator 81 producesan oscillator output 82 having a frequency F.sub.LO defined by theresonant frequency of the tuned circuit.

The oscillator output 82 is supplied to a divider 83, which divides theoscillator frequency, F.sub.LO, by an integer value, n. The dividedfrequency is supplied to a first input of a phase detector 84.

A reference oscillator 85, such as, but not limited to, atemperature-compensated crystal oscillator, oscillates at a fixed knownfrequency. The output of the reference oscillator 85 is divided by afixed factor in a fixed divider 86. The output from the fixed divider86, the reference frequency, F.sub.REF, is supplied to a second input ofthe phase detector 84.

The phase detector 84 generates an output voltage dependent on thedifference in phase between the signal at the first input and the secondinput. The output voltage is supplied to a low-pass loop filter 88,which, in turn, supplies a control voltage to the oscillator 81, suchas, but not limited to, a vericap diode within the oscillator 81. Theloop filter 88 generates a signal that pulls the phase and frequencyF.sub.LO of the oscillator 81 to a value, which after division by n inthe variable divider 83, is equal to the phase and frequency ofF.sub.REF, from the fixed divider 86.

A characteristic problem with the phase-locked loop synthesizer 77 isfeed-through of the F.sub.REF signal from the fixed divider 86, throughthe phase detector 84, to the signal supplied to the oscillator 81. Aneffect of this feed-through is instability in the phase-locked loopsynthesizer 77. Removal of F.sub.REF from the output of the phasedetector 84, and hence any instability in the phase-locked loopsynthesizer 77, is performed by the loop filter 88. However, as the loopfilter 88 is a low-pass filter, its effect is to dampen changes or hopsin the frequency F.sub.LO which occur as a result of changes in integern.

Without extreme filtering, due to radio frequency feed-through, sidebandfrequencies are imposed on the oscillator output 82 from oscillator 81,which has a corresponding center frequency. These sideband frequencieswill degrade or distort reception of the desired channel by addingmodulation components. In accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention, this phenomenon is exploited to create interruption sound andto an extreme, cause the call to be dropped.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, theinterruption sound can be produced by, but not limited to, removing,changing, and/or modulating the loop filter 88.

The frequency altering interruption-sound device 61 c is suitable foruse with a timing circuit 166 for automatic call disconnection asdescribed above.

FIG. 12 is a front cut-away view of a mobile phone 19 comprising anantenna 46 and an antenna shielding device 45, in accordance withanother embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is suitablefor phones having an antenna 46, such as mobile phones and cordlessphones. The antenna 46 comprises an active element 47. The activeelement 47 is used herein in the general sense at to mean the element ofthe antenna 46 that transmits and/or receives the transmitted radiofrequency signal. It is generally known that the active element can takeon many configurations, such as that of a straight or coiled wire, amongothers. The antenna shielding device 45 is adapted to translate to coverat least a portion of the active element 47. In an embodiment inaccordance with the present invention, the antenna shielding device 45comprises a handle 43 used to facilitate the translation of the antennashielding device 45 over or away from the active element 47.

The antenna shielding device 45 is adapted to block or degrade thetransmitted radio-frequency signal a predetermined amount to induceinterruption sounds and/or a dropped call. When call interruption isdesired, the interruptor engages and advances the shielding device 45over at least a portion of the active element 47 to induce a desireddegree of blocking to reduce signal strength. Call disconnection isproduced, such as, but not limited to, by advancing the shielding device45 over the active element 47 sufficient to block signal transmission,which results in the call being dropped.

In another embodiment in accordance with the present invention, calldisconnection is effected by the interruptor after a desired time oftransmitting a reduced strength signal by selecting the “end,” “off,” orsimilar means in which the mobile phone is provided for calldisconnection.

In yet another embodiment in accordance with the present invention, theinterfering sounds are aborted by the interruptor removing theantenna-shielding device 45 away from the active element 47, restoringsignal strength.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described hereinfor purposes of description of the preferred embodiment, it will beappreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a wide variety ofalternate and/or equivalent implementations calculated to achieve thesame purposes may be substituted for the specific embodiment shown anddescribed without departing from the scope of the present invention.Those with skill in the art will readily appreciate that the presentinvention may be implemented in a very wide variety of embodiments. Thisapplication is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of theembodiments discussed herein.

Persons skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications andvariations are possible in the details, materials, and arrangements ofthe parts and actions which have been described and illustrated in orderto explain the nature of this invention and that such modifications andvariations do not depart from the spirit and scope of the teachings andclaims contained therein.

1. An interruption-sound device for producing an interruption-soundsignal in a telecommunications transmission signal, the apparatuscomprising: a signal generating circuit for producing aninterruption-sound signal; and a processing circuit for processing theinterruption-sound signal in combination with a voice signal generatedby a microphone to produce a transmission signal including theinterruption-sound signal.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein theinterruption-sound signal comprises characteristic sounds associatedwith a mobile phone in the process of dropping a call.
 3. The device ofclaim 1, further comprising a triggering circuit adapted to activate oractivate and deactivate the signal generating circuit.
 4. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the signal generating circuit further comprises atiming circuit adapted to disconnect the call a predetermined length oftime after activation of the signal generating circuit.
 5. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the signal generating circuit comprises a synthesizercircuit for producing the interruption-sound signal, the synthesizercircuit comprises a voltage-controlled oscillator circuit.
 6. The deviceof claim 1, wherein the signal generating circuit comprises asynthesizer circuit for producing the interruption-sound signal, thesynthesizer circuit comprises a frequency-filtering circuit.
 7. Thedevice of claim 6, wherein the synthesizer circuit further comprises avoltage-controlled oscillator circuit.
 8. The device of claim 1, whereinthe signal generating circuit further comprises: a sound storage circuitadapted to store one or more interruption-sound signals; and a playbackcircuit adapted to control the sound storage circuit to produce one ormore of the interruption-sound signals.
 9. The device of claim 8,wherein the sound storage circuit is adapted to store the one or moreinterruption-sound signals in pulse-code-modulated (PCM) format.
 10. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit comprises modulatingand mixing circuitry for frequency translation, frequency changing,and/or heterodyning, which acts upon the voice signal.
 11. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the processing circuit comprises modulating and mixingcircuitry for frequency translation, frequency changing, and/orheterodyning, which acts upon the transmission signal so as to causeloss of channel locking.
 12. A method for producing and transmittinginterruption sounds using a telecommunications device, comprising:activating an interruption-sound device for producing aninterruption-sound signal in a transmission signal that is perceived bythe interruptee during a call as the characteristic sounds associatedwith a mobile phone in the process of dropping a call, theinterruption-sound device comprising: a signal generating circuit forproducing an interruption-sound signal; and a processing circuit forprocessing the interruption-sound signal in combination with a voicesignal generated by a microphone to produce a transmission signalincluding the interruption-sound signal.
 13. The method of claim 12,further comprising deactivating the interruption-sound device so as tocontinue the call.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein activating aninterruption-sound device comprises activating one or more buttons so asto activate the interruption-sound device for a predetermined amount oftime after which the call is disconnected.
 15. The method of claim 14,wherein the predetermined amount of time is determined by the selectionof particular one or more buttons.
 16. Interruption-sound device forproducing an interruption-sound signal in a transmission signal from aphone having an antenna suitable to transmit and/or receive atransmitted radio frequency signal, the apparatus comprising: an antennashielding device adapted to cover at least a portion of the antennaadapted to block or degrade the transmission signal a predeterminedamount to induce interruption sounds and/or a dropped call.
 17. Thedevice of claim 16, the antenna shielding device further comprising ahandle used to facilitate the movement of the antenna shielding deviceover or away from the antenna.
 18. A method for producing andtransmitting interruption sounds using a phone having an antennasuitable to transmit and/or receive a transmitted radio frequencysignal, comprising: advancing a shielding device over at least a portionof the antenna to induce a desired degree of blocking to reduce signalstrength, the shielding device adapted to cover at least a portion ofthe antenna adapted to block or degrade the transmission signal apredetermined amount to induce interruption sounds and/or a droppedcall.
 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising advancing theshielding device over the antenna sufficient to block signaltransmission, which results in the call being dropped.
 20. The method ofclaim 18, further comprising advancing the shielding device over theantenna sufficient to cause interruption sound, and after a desiredperiod of time selecting the “end,” “off,” or similar means in which themobile phone is provided for call disconnection.